I know, isn't it? His style irked the hell out of me, but I'm sure loads of people will like it just fine. The worst is when everybody's raving about something and then you finally read it and you think, 'oh, GOD, I'll never make it through to the end - what's WRONG with everybody?!' (Then you get paranoid about your own work!)
A little harsh but I agree that sometimes he didn't try hard enough with his languageand the dialogue didn't always flow. However I enjoyed the collection despite all this. I think he has a knack for rendering the absurd in situations that Nigerians very often see as normal. I've heard so many stories of people marrying for passports/visas etc that I almost forget that this kind of behaviour is considered suspect by many.
I'm glad you liked the book; I can be rather snarky in my reviews at times. He doesn't write in a style I'm very fond of, but he definitely does have a great eye for the absurd - you're right about that, and it was one of the best aspects of the stories.
Huge congratulations about your own work by the way - a two-book deal with Faber at nineteen? Amazing! I can't wait to read The Spider King's Daughter when it comes out. Best of luck!
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Interesting stuff! Interesting how, sometimes, we just don't click with a certain style, isn't it?
I know, isn't it? His style irked the hell out of me, but I'm sure loads of people will like it just fine. The worst is when everybody's raving about something and then you finally read it and you think, 'oh, GOD, I'll never make it through to the end - what's WRONG with everybody?!' (Then you get paranoid about your own work!)
Ha ha! Oh I've been there all right. No shame in it though - we like what we like. No point pretending.
A little harsh but I agree that sometimes he didn't try hard enough with his languageand the dialogue didn't always flow. However I enjoyed the collection despite all this. I think he has a knack for rendering the absurd in situations that Nigerians very often see as normal. I've heard so many stories of people marrying for passports/visas etc that I almost forget that this kind of behaviour is considered suspect by many.
Hi Chibundu,
I'm glad you liked the book; I can be rather snarky in my reviews at times. He doesn't write in a style I'm very fond of, but he definitely does have a great eye for the absurd - you're right about that, and it was one of the best aspects of the stories.
Huge congratulations about your own work by the way - a two-book deal with Faber at nineteen? Amazing! I can't wait to read The Spider King's Daughter when it comes out. Best of luck!
Valerie
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